If that weren’t enough, on top of the article in the Express by Nathan Rao (which I imagine he contributed barely a word to), the paper then went on to double-down, with a follow-up article, cementing the research in the pantheon of PR piffle:

Bedtime battles

A new survey says that many bedrooms are a war zone. So what’s stopping you from having a good night’s sleep?

Bedrooms, we are told by the experts, should be reserved for two things: sleep and having sex. They warn us that the television or laptop can destroy the bedroom’s feng shui, that it should be a place free of distractions, that what couples should aim for is a comfortable love zone where they spend quality time with each other and promote intimacy.

This is all well and good but let’s get back to the real world. According to research by Travelodge, it emerges that the bedroom is pretty much a war zone such are the night-time rows caused by bedtime behaviour. Whether it’s down to hogging the duvet, watching scary movies or insisting on sharing the mattress space with the family pet, couples lose up to 90 minutes’ sleep a week by bickering about each other’s antisocial habits in the sack. Over a year that’s at least a week’s worth of good kip gone missing.

What motive have Travelodge for outlining the battles of bedtime, and the difficulty people have in sharing a bed? While none of the three news articles explain the motivation behind the story, it’s unequivocal in the original press release:

Shakila Ahmed, Travelodge spokeswoman said: “Our research has highlighted that bedtime bickering amongst couples is a growing concern across the UK. In some areas such as Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool couples are losing a week’s worth of sleep a year which is not good news. Therefore in response to this growing issue, we have created a new luxurious bespoke bed which addresses the number one reason for bed bickering which is fidgeting between the sheets.

“The Travelodge Dreamer which is deemed the Rolls Royce of beds boasts a 925 pocket sprung mattress. Each individual spring is designed to follow the natural contour of an individual’s body in order to provide the correct amount of support and comfort. For a couple, this ensures that each individual is much less affected by the movement of their partner, resulting in a good quality night’s sleep.

“Also to ensure there is a balanced temperature between the sheets, we have introduced a bounce back 10.5 tog duvet which offers the ideal snuggling cover up whilst sleeping.”

So, ‘sleeping with someone is tricky unless you have the correct bed’, says hotel firm advertising the range of beds they have available. PR this blatant never fails to amuse me, especially the ease with which it passes into the national press. How do the journalists not see straight through it? Perhaps Nathan Rao and Emma Innes are both in need of a good night’s kip…